Naomi Osaka gets WC for WTA 1000 tournament, confirms first post-Olympic event

07/25/2024 12:00 AM

Naomi Osaka is set to return to Toronto this summer after the National Bank Open organizers announced the former world No. 1 as a main draw wildcard recipient. 

After representing Japan at the Paris Olympics, Osaka will instantly start practicing on hard courts and kick off her North American hard court swing in Toronto, which starts on August 6th. And when the 26-year-old Japanese starts her Toronto campaign, she will be making her fifth main draw appearance at the National Bank Open - in the past, she played three times in Toronto and once in Montreal.

So far, Osaka's best result at the National Bank Open has been the quarterfinal she reached in the 2019 tournament edition in Toronto. Last year when the tournament was held in Montreal, the four-time Grand Slam champion didn't play because she was on maternity leave. 

In 2022, Osaka's Toronto run wasn't a memorable one as she was 6-7 (4) 0-3 down to Kaia Kanepi in the first round before retiring injured. But now, the 26-year-old Japanese is looking forward to returning to Toronto.

“I’m thrilled to be playing at the National Bank Open this year. The city of Toronto has an amazing energy and I can’t wait to be back there. I’m incredibly grateful for the wild-card opportunity and look forward to playing in front of the passionate Canadian fans," Osaka said in a statement.

And the tournament organizers are also thrilled about welcoming back the four-time Grand Slam champion to their tournament.

“We couldn’t be happier to provide this opportunity to two well-deserving Canadians who we know fans will be excited to see in action. And, to welcome a player of Naomi’s quality and star power back to Toronto is going to be a real treat for everyone," Toronto tournament director Karl Hale said.